New Delhi: As the release date of Sanjay Leela Bhanasali’s movie ‘Padmavati’ nears, the protests against the movie have intensified.

While the protests have been widespread in Rajasthan, the land of the fabled Rajput queen, the agitating groups are expected to hold a massive rally against the movie in the national capital today.

Groups comprising Shree Rajput Karni Sena , Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha and others declared on Tuesday that they would launch an agitation in New Delhi on November 19 and called on youths to join their protest.

"It would be a protest in Delhi on November 19 demanding a ban on the film's release. We will talk about it in detail in a press conference on Tuesday," The Times of India quoted an organiser.

The row over the movie, in which Deepika Padukone essays the lead role , has taken an ugly turn after members of the Rajput Karni Sena, a fringe outfit in Rajasthan, threatened to “cut off Padukone’s nose and behead Bhansali”, if the film released.

The Karni Sena alleges that the film, based on the legend of Rani Padmini or Padmavati, the queen of Chittorgarh, compromises on the honour of the Rajput queen.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister on Saturday wrote to I&B minister Smriti Irani urging her to ensure that the movie was not released “without the necessary cuts”.

On Friday, shots were also fired during the Karni Sena’s protest outside at Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan.

Tourists visiting the fort were requested to go back after the entry to the famous Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan was closed on Friday in protest of the movie.

And on Saturday, a day after the protests at Chittorgarh Fort, entry was blocked to the Kumbhalgarh Fort
in Rajsamand district “for some time” by hundreds of residents led by the Rajput community, demanding a ban on the movie, PTI reported.

Padmavati, starring Padukone, Ranveer Singh as Allaudin Khilji and Shahid Kapoor as Raja Mahaveer Singh, is scheduled to release on December 1.